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Overview

Kestrel Hath's schoolroom rebellion against the stifling caste system of Aramanth leads to explosive consequences for her and her family: they are relegated to the city's lowest caste and are ostracized. With nothing left to lose, Kestrel and her twin brother, Bowman, do the unthinkable: they leave the city walls. Their only hope of rescuing the rest of their family is to find the key to the wind singer. Armed with bravery, wits, and determination, Kestrel, Bowman, and a tagalong classmate set off to find the key. Along the way they meet allies and foes, but in order to succeed in their quest, they must face the most sinister force of all: the evil spirit-lord, the Morah.

Editorial Reviews

Nicholson's (Shadowlands) highly imaginative debut YA novel, the first in a planned trilogy, starts out tantalizingly but eventually neglects its internal logic. In the dystopian city of Aramanth, family ratings determine position, housing and privileges within the society's color-coded caste system. As the novel opens, the Hath family brings two-year-old Pinpin for her first day of "testing"--with comically disastrous results. Shortly after, Kestrel, the Haths' strong-headed and brave daughter, stages a rebellion in a riotously depicted scene at school and eventually ends up climbing the wind singer (a giant archaic structure whose history is nearly forgotten) to hurl curses at the town. Events escalate, and soon Kestrel, her twin brother (who has supernatural abilities to empathize with others) and a learning-disabled classmate, Mumpo, find themselves on a quest to retrieve the wind singer's voice; according to legend, it will restore harmony to Aramanth. Nicholson is at his best when he adheres to Kestrel's point of view; occasional shifts in perspective may temporarily break readers from the author's spell. Highly original characters, such as the loving "Mudpeople" who inhabit a world under the city's grid-like streets, and "old children" whose touch zaps the life from normal humans, exert a powerful fascination. However, there are inconsistencies (Why, when Mumpo turns into one of the "old children," is he exempt from the laws that govern them?) and unexplored elements (e.g., Kestrel's mother's ancestry and gifts as a prophetess). Perhaps these curiosities will be explained in subsequent installments, but they come across here as loose ends. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 10-14. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 5-8-A prominent producer/director/ scriptwriter ventures into epic-or at least epic length-fantasy with this tale of three children out to save the regimented residents of their walled city. Over generations since the small silver "voice" of a mysterious aeolian pipe organ known as the wind singer was meekly surrendered to the Morah, a menacing spirit-lord, Aramanth has become enslaved by a relentless ethic of academic self-improvement, enforced by color-coded social strata and regular, supervised, written examinations. When the misfit Hath family draws the eye, and ire, of the Chief Examiner, twins Kestrel and Bowman set out to reclaim the wind singer's voice, accompanied by a despised, simpleminded classmate. After an episodic series of encounters-including hordes of giant eagles and wolves, and finally with the Zar, an army of murderous zombies that marches at the Morah's behest-the three do give the wind singer back its ethereal voice, whereupon the pursuing Zar all die and the citizens of Aramanth spontaneously throw off their oppressive urge to excel. Nicholson throws a satiric light onto his various societies, gives his young protagonists intriguing capabilities, and concocts genuinely bone-chilling supernatural menaces. However, rescue (usually of a contrived sort) is always so conveniently close at hand that the children never fall into convincing peril, and subplots seem to exist for the sole purpose of giving their parents something to do. Still, despite being the first of a projected trilogy, the story stands alone, and fans of such barbed journey tales as Tanith Lee's Wolf Tower (Dutton, 2000) will enjoy the social commentary.-John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The Wind Singer: Wind on Fire Series, Book 1 4.6 out of 5based on
0 ratings.
25 reviews.

Clurb on LibraryThing

More than 1 year ago

Book 1 of the Wind On Fire trilogy. This is a good tale in its own right, focusing on themes of friendship and responsibility in a somewhat dystopian society.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

The Wind Singer was a really good book. I have never read anything like it before. I am not the biggest fan when it comes to reading, but every once in a while I will find a book that keeps me reading and really intrigues me. This is definitely one of those books. I wouldn't recommend it to little kids. This book has many genres in it. The main ones that are shown throughout are fantasy and adventure. And there is some violence but nothing really bad. If you read it you will constantly be wondering how William Nicholson came up with some of the people and events that take place. But that is a good thing because imagination is always a good quality in fantasy books. William Nicholson shows in an adventurous and exciting way how family and friends should always stick together even if they are in a life or death situation. Also that when faced with adversity your family and friends are a lot of the time the ones that help you through it. In the story Kestrel and Bowman are brother and sister who can communicate with there thoughts. Their city Aramanth is run in a system of rankings. Every family and person has a rating and that determines what you are able to do in life and which district you live. Bowman and Kestrel hate this system because it is not good to their family or anybody else's. William Nicholson has the two of them and their new friend Mumpo go on a crazy adventure starting with mud people and ending with the Zars, with a few old children along the way. They have to find the voice of the Wind Singer which will help the city return to before the rankings system.They accidently set loose one of the most powerful and fearsome army ever heard of. This army had not marched the earth for centuries. William Nicholson does an amazing job describing these events and you just can't put the book down. The book rarely has a slow part and when it does it quickly leads back into the action. Along their way they make some friends with some pirates who travel around on a city on wheels. Their new friends come to their rescue later, but it is not the same people as before. Most of the events in the book are made with some extreme suspense. Near the climax of their journey Bowman and Mumpo fall under the power of the Morah, who controls the Zars. Kestrel is separated from them for a long time and eventually finds them and after a lot of trying she gets them to realize that they are under the power of the Morah and they come back to their senses. They get ahead of the army and make it back to Aramanth just in time to save their city and return it to the way it should be without rankings and all that dumb stuff. The ending was the only thing I didn't like about the book. The Zars come to Aramanth and before anything cool happens they put the voice of the wind singer back into the wind singer and within a few seconds the Zars are killed and turned to dust because of the beautiful sounds from the wind singer. The book ended too quickly. William Nicholson should have had some more action before the army was annihilated. But other than that the book was great and tells us the world today that family and friends can help us get through the toughest trials. The book is adventurous, exciting and sometimes funny because it is so weird. The Wind Singer is a great book for teens everywhere.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Guest

More than 1 year ago

William Nicholson's Wind Singer is fantastic in every way. It is easy to picture on the big screen, but still not your every day fantasy.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I'm 30 and I loved this book, and the others in the trilogy. It's a highly imaginative well-planned out book. I say for mature readers because some of the images are graphic and bloody... sort of violent. I just wouldn't recommend it to very young readers, but it does have good life lesson themes... A thrill ride!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This was the best book ever. i enjoyed it so much. Nicholson has a talent for writing because his descriptions were amazing. Right after i finshed this book i couldnt wait to go get the book the saves of mastery. I highly recomend this book to anyone. Not only fantasy fans but even people who dont enjoy reading because once you pick this book up you wont wwant to put it back down.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This book was to spectaculer it blew me out of my seat.He writes in a way that you are always waiting for the next statment. I love his idea towards strive harder and always wish for a better tommorw. This book is really good i've read it 3 times. I recommend this to any children that love fantasy.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

The Wind On Fire trilogy has to be one of the best stories ever to be written. It made me cry, smile, laugh, and most importantly, dream. It was beautifully written, and the characters were so realistic. I recommend this book to all.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I just finished this book and the first thing I did was to check if there were any others. This book is exciting and I loved it. It was an easy read so don't be intimidated by the size. This book deserves every one of the 5 stars I give it.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This book is great. Everyone should read it.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This book is great! If you like the Harry Potter Series or if you like The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia you will love The Wind Singer. It seems all the great fantasy writers do come from Europe huh? (JK Rowling, CS Lewis) I haven't read the other 2 books of the Wind on Fire trilogy but i plan to. But if u r looking for something to read that will be exciting, read this!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I'm only 12 years old but i loved this book. i think it is a great book for anyone to read. i loved the other books in the series they were excellent as well. william nicholson is a geinus. i was amazed by the fact that i could not put the book down because i am a very advanced reader and it looked like a regular childrens chapter book but when i picked it up i just could not put it down!! it was like i was there with kestrel bowman and mumpo running from the old children running from the Zars and just trying to survive in the crazy place in which they lived. trust me i am a person who likes to read alot. i have read zillions on zillions of books but not once have i found one so imaginative that i wanted to read it more than 5 times

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I loved this book and think that other adults and young adults would enjoy this novel. I gave this book a four star rating becuse if they had one more twist in it, it would be to much to understand and follow.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

The wind singer is a book Mr. Nicholson should be very proud of the charicters are loveable and the things they encounter in this book are amazing and original. Two Thumbs up for the wind singer!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This is an enchanting book that nobody in the world could describe. All I can describe of it was that it was EXTAODINARY! Since I am only in fourth grade i couldn't understand one chapter but that didn't stop me from having it be my favorite book in the world!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

The wind singer is a just simply a great book! It is so suspensful and thrilling that you'll never want to put it down.When I read it i never know whats gonna happen next. I highly reccomend this book!!!! READ IT!!!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This fantasy- scifi novel keeps you hanging the whole way through with some humor, a little horror, and tons of action. This is a must read.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This is a page-turner! My mom and I have enjoyed it tremendously. We recommend this book very highly for anyone who likes an adventure and hates school.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I LOVED it!!!! I'm not usually a big fantasy lover,but I found myself completly ingrossed in the book!! The details are intense and bring the book to life! I would reccomend it to everyone I know! (and I have)

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It's full of suspence and action. I couldn't put it down. It was really outstanding. I recomend it to anyone.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This was an extremely awsome book! It was beautifully written and the plot was suspenseful and very interesting! I was completely hooked! I'm just dieing for a sequal! This is the wind on fire TRILOGY right? Are the other two books out? Other than that question, I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

I loved this book so much! It's the best book I've ever read! (And believe me, I've read millions!)I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and adventure!

Guest

More than 1 year ago

'The Wind Singer' is a solid, fast-paced adventure for young readers with interesting characters and a theme to which most students can relate. What if your whole life was measured by a series of tests, seemingly standardized and thus fair to all who took them? What if your family¿s status within the community depended on the accumulated scores of parents and children? What if you just don¿t fit into this system?

While 'The Wind Singer' is not as rich and complex as 'The Golden Compass' and not as strongly plotted as ¿Harry Potter,¿ it is a very good entertainment, which happens to make an interesting point about education.

The author, a screenwriter and director, draws vivid action scenes and moves the plot along at a motion-picture pace. There is not much depth to the characters, but this is the first book of a series, so their growth may be the focus of the books as the series progresses.

Guest

More than 1 year ago

This book was sooo good! At night I could hardly put it down. The Wind Singer is filled with adventure and a sence of curiocity.

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